our first dinner

The first dinner we had in our new apartment was a antipasti of caprese, made by Sam and a main course of pasta made by Gaby.

photo time

I have been in Italy for 14 days so of course I have lots of photos - and these are some of them:

The second day (29 August) we went to a Democratic Party Convention (I had my first Italian gelato! They had drinks, huge meat rotating on ovens, a dance floor...)

They had a floor for vespas that were on display.

Two of my roomates (Gaby and Sam) and I shared a falafel (30 August)

This is (from the left) Gaby , Sam, and Sara, 3 of my roommates.

Me...haha

From the front: Sam, John, Gaby, and Sara and the Ponte Vecchio over the Arno River in the background!

yum...gelati

Sitting on the steps of the Duomo...

me again...

I'm not really eating so much!!! (I just take pictures when I am) But they have caprese panini that are bigger than my face...

settling in...

First of all, thanks for all the encouragement and comments from people! I miss all of you!

I have been getting settled in to life in Italy. We had a hotel for a week but now I have moved into an apartment with 4 other students. Samantha and Sara share a room with me, and Gaby and John are in another room.


We have been walking so much! The day we went apartment hunting we calculated with Gaby's pedometer and it was 18 miles! We have been eating lots of delicious Italian bar food (foccacia, panini) and fast food (pizze, falafel, kebab places) and of course gelato.

More updates to come!

one week

Everything I know about Italian culture comes from what I've read in books or seen in movies --- so I don't really know anything about the subject when it comes down to it. Needless to say, I experience a slight sensation of terror whenever I think about the culture shock I'm about to go through. On the other hand, the chance to discover a new culture excites me. I want to be completely immersed in a foreign place - with the people, learning new ideas, eating the food, and experiencing the lifestyle. I'll meet new people, learn, and become more independent, which is why I decided to spend a year studying abroad in the first place.

I have to keep reminding myself of this because...

right now I am freaking out!!!

But I know it will be okay ... there's a reason for all this!

Thanks to everyone who's been helping me out -- my parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, the other people going through the same thing I am, and my friends. I don't know if anyone will read this blog but it will hopefully be a place where I can keep thoughts, pictures, and videos at the least.









Toby sleeping while I'm trying to pack. I'm gonna miss him!